By Jessica Ferreira
Let’s be honest — when most people say they’ve got an “Ideal Customer Profile,” what they usually mean is: we’ve got a slide somewhere in a deck that mentions job titles, industry, and maybe a picture of someone smiling with a latte.
Sound familiar?
That’s exactly why we created the ICP Playbook here at Interact. Because after working with dozens of clients across industries — from fintech to retail — we realised most ICPs just aren’t doing what they’re supposed to. And honestly, we couldn’t ignore it anymore.
This is the story of why we built the playbook, what went into it, and how it’s already helping teams make smarter, more confident decisions about who they’re really here to serve.
The Problem: Vague Profiles, Missed Opportunities
It all started with a pattern I couldn’t unsee.
Client after client would show us their ICPs — and at first glance, they looked fine. Some had fancy personas, some had data-rich slides, some had whole reports. But when we asked:
- Who is your best customer?
- What do they need most from you?
- And how does this ICP guide your everyday decisions?
…things got quiet.
The truth is, most ICPs were either way too broad, built off assumptions, or just… sitting in the cloud gathering dust. Marketing was saying one thing, sales another. Product teams had a totally different take. And leadership? They just wanted growth.
That disconnect was costing businesses time, money, and momentum. And no one really had a way to fix it — at least not simply.
The Spark: What If We Made a Playbook That Actually Worked?
So we asked ourselves:
What if we reimagined the ICP not as a static doc, but as a living tool teams actually want to use?
Not just “who are we targeting?”
But also “how do we find them?”, “what do we say to them?”, and “how do we know if they’re the right fit?”
That was the spark.
And that’s when the playbook project was born.
Building It: Real Customers, Real Questions, Real Strategy
The process was both fun and eye-opening.
We didn’t want to create just another template. So we pulled from our research roots and our CX/UX brainpower to build something grounded, useful, and — importantly — easy to use.
Here’s what we focused on:
- Getting real about behaviour — not just demographics, but motivations, buying habits, and emotional drivers.
- Making it actionable — so teams could go from profile to play in minutes.
- Keeping it adaptable — because ideal customers change as businesses grow, and your ICP should grow with you.
We structured it more like a guided strategy session than a form to fill in. Think prompts, questions, scoring rubrics, and activation tools that actually help you do things — like adjust messaging, qualify leads, or align your go-to-market efforts.
What’s Inside (Spoiler: It’s Not Just a Pretty Template)
The ICP Playbook is part strategy tool, part alignment magic.
A few of the things people love most about it:
- Evaluates Fit Helps you prioritise leads that are actually a good match.
- Pain point identified: So you’re solving real problems, not just guessing.
- Ways to get your team involved: Because product, sales, and marketing should not be working from different playbooks.
The best part? It’s something your whole team can rally around — no more guessing, no more silos.
We’ve taken our time to build it with care: pressure-testing it internally, running it through different use cases, and making sure it’s not just “another tool,” but something that genuinely helps teams think, plan, and act with more clarity.
What I Learned Along the Way
A few surprising lessons stood out while building this:
- Simple > Fancy. The tools people use the most aren’t complex — they’re clear.
- Teams crave alignment. When everyone’s on the same page, it unlocks speed and confidence.
- Personas aren’t enough. You need to go beyond “who” and into “why they care” — and “how we act on it.”
Also: ideal customers evolve. If your ICP is from two years ago and hasn’t been touched since… it’s probably holding you back.
So… Why Should You Care?
If you’re feeling stuck trying to scale, unsure why conversion is lagging, or you’re building out messaging that just doesn’t land — chances are, it’s an ICP problem.
And I get it. It’s easy to assume “we know our customer.” But unless you’re regularly challenging that assumption and aligning your teams around it, you might be aiming at the wrong target.
That’s why we created this playbook: to give businesses a no-fluff, high-impact way to define, refine, and activate their ideal customer strategy.
Final Thought
Look, customer profiles aren’t new. But the way we use them needs a rethink.
Your ICP shouldn’t be a marketing document. It should be a strategic superpower — something that sharpens focus, drives alignment, and fuels smart, sustainable growth.
That’s what this playbook is all about. And I’m genuinely excited to see where it takes you.
Let’s get clear on who we’re really here to serve.
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